Kinorob Studio and Ukrainian Institute of National Memory Signed a Cooperation Agreement to Work on Gareth Jones Historical Thriller

23 January 2018

The filming of Ukrainian block will start in early March 2018.

Kinorob studio working on the production of Gareth Jones historical thriller jointly produced by Poland, Ukraine, and the UK has signed a cooperation agreement with the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory. According to its terms, the teams will join their efforts to popularize Ukrainian history in the world and to raise awareness in the society about events associated with the Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine.

“Ukraine puts up a task to tell the world the truth about the terrible crime of genocide committed by the totalitarian regime in Ukraine in 1932-1933. That is why the film which is just at the beginning of its journey is critical: it will allow contemporary Europeans to see those horrifying events through the eyes of Gareth Jones, a European who managed to break through Stalin’s informational blockade. The film is also essential for Ukrainians because we continue rethinking our past and overcoming the heritage of totalitarianism. And finally, Ukraine lacks high-quality historical films. So I believe that this movie made by a highly professional team will become a step towards the development of Ukrainian period film,” says Volodymyr Vyatrovych, head of Ukrainian Institute of National Memory.

Gareth Jones is a story of a well-known British journalist and researcher who in spite of deadly danger went to Soviet Ukraine to uncover the whole truth about the tragedy of the Ukrainian people and to tell it to the world. It is his condemnations that later became the foundation of Animal Farm by George Orwell. The shooting is due to start in Ukraine in early March 2018, and the film is to be directed by Agnieszka Holland, a well-known Polish director and the head of European Film Academy.

“Gareth Jones is one of the few brave souls who tried to enlighten the world in 1933 about the horrible crime of communist regime in Ukraine, i.e., the nation killed by famine. The courage and journalistic integrity of the free correspondent are truly admirable. Unfortunately, too few people in Ukraine and the world over know about Gareth Jones and his feat,” says Volodymyr Tylischak, deputy head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory. “So we warmly welcome the creation of a historical thriller and are ready to help its authors so that more people in Ukraine and abroad know about Gareth Jones and the terrible crime of Famine he uncovered.”

During the work on the project, Ukrainian Institute of National Memory will provide the film authors with consulting and access to photo and video materials as well as archive documents, research results, informational and analytical texts associated with the 1932-1933 Famine events and the personality of Gareth Jones.

“We are thankful to the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory for their readiness to cooperate and comprehensively support our historical thriller, Gareth Jones. The information, archive materials and consulting provided by the institute’s team are vital for us and will help us in making the film,” says Egor Olesov, film producer. “Besides, during project work, we planto hold a range of educational and cultural events together with our partners to raise awareness about the events associated with the 1932-1933 Famine in Ukraine.”

Just a reminder: Gareth Jones historical thriller won the 10th competitive selection of film projects in Theme Features category (dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the 1932-1933 Famine in Ukraine). The total budget of the film jointly produced by Ukraine (Kinorob), Poland (Film Produkcja), and the UK (Crab Apple Film), amounts to 262,207,290 UAH; out of those 25,930,000 UAH have been provided by Ukrainian State Film Agency.

The filming of Ukrainian block will start in early March 2018; then the process will continue in Poland and Scotland.

Synopsis: In 1933, Welsh reporter Gareth Jones is looking for his next big story. The job assignment brings him to Moscow, where he meets American journalist Ada Brooks who reveals to him the truth about the “Soviet utopia” and Jones starts to put all pieces together.

Hiding from the Soviet intelligence agencies and facing deadly threats, bit by bit he uncovers the truth about the tragedy of the Ukrainian people: the Holodomor, censorship, conspiracies and mass repressions. Later the Gareth’s work finds a home as the basis of scathing allegory Animal Farm by the famous writer George Orwell.